Colorado Conservatory of Dance
Step 2: Bullying Basics What is Bullying?
Bullying is when one person uses their power deliberately to hurt another individual repeatedly. Bullying methods can range greatly in their severity and intentions. Physical Aggression – includes pushing, shoving, stealing, and inflicting bodily harm against someone. This can even include violence against a person’s family or friends. Verbal Aggression – includes mocking, taunting, name-calling, dirty looks or gestures, teasing about possessions or appearance, and even verbal threats of violence. Social Alienation – includes gossiping, embarrassing or spreading rumors about someone, using ethnic slurs, excluding someone from the group, and threatening someone with total isolation from a peer group. Intimidation – includes defacing someone’s property or clothing, threatening to embarrass or reveal personal information, sexual or racial taunting, threatening with a weapon, coercion, and extortion. Cyber – includes using the internet, cell phones, cameras, and text messaging to hurt others. Extension Activity: Have students make a drawing of a bullying situation with crayons, colored pencils, or markers. They could draw a picture from personal experience, or make a picture of what they think bullying might look like. Remind students to show the many different types of bullying including verbal - name-calling, physical - pushing or shoving, and social alienation - leaving someone out of an activity.
Key Roles in Bullying
There are three main participants in bullying situations. These participants, whether they react or are passive, all contribute to the outcomes of bullying. These participants include: The Bully or Bullies - a person or group of people who repeatedly use their power and influence over others to hurt another individual. A “bully” can learn to choose different behaviors. The Target - typically a person who is passive, insecure, or unable to defend themselves. These people are easily singled out because they won’t fight back. The Bystanders - the majority of people (approximately 80%) who watch bullying happen and stand silently watching, not knowing what to do. This group of people is also called the “silent majority.”
Upstanders vs. Bystanders
By teaching students in our schools that bullying is not allowed, and that they have the power to stand up for themselves and for others, we are able to create a fourth participant in a bullying situation. Students learn to stop being the silent majority (observing bullying and doing nothing), and move to being upstanders (preventing or stopping bullying from happening.)
Talk it Over
Begin a discussion with students about behavior that doesn’t keep friendships. Have them come up with examples of a time that a friend was not so nice to them. Students should only use names if they have something nice to share. Use this topic as a starting Have students brainstorm as a class about what they think bullying might be. Write down their ideas and add in ones they may have missed such as teasing someone or purposely leaving someone out of a game at recess.
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